Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-12-10

breakfast and he went, leaving me in u
very uncomfortable state Of mind. | was
deeply attached to old Job, who was one
OF the best and honestest men / have ever
had To do with in any class OF life, and
really more OF a friend than a servant, and
the mere idea Of anything happening tn
nm brought n lump into my throat. Be-
meath ali his ludicrous talk Icould see that
he himself was quite convinced that some
thing was going TO happtn, and though in
most cases these convictions turn out tn
be utter moOnshine-and this particular
one especially was to be amply accounted
for by the gloomy aud unaccustoned sur
round!ngs in which It's victim was placed
still ii did more or less carry n chill ~
my heart, AS anything that is obviously q
genuine object Of belief Is apt to do, how
ever absurd the belief may be. Presently
the breakfast arrived, and with IL Leo, who
had been taking a walk outside the cave
To clear his mind, he said-and very glad /
was to see both, for they gave me a respite
from my gloomy thoughts. After break
fast we went for another walk, and watched
some or the A~mahagger sowing u plot OF
ground with the grain from which they
make their beer. This they did in Scrip
tural fashion-a man with q bag made of
ROil - Ulut lilSlpDcI TDIUlQ Ills NllSU Wink
ing up and down the plot, and scattering
the seed as he went. 1t was a positive re-
lief to see one of these dreadful people do
anything SO homely and pleasant as SOW u
field, perhaps because IL seemed TO INK
them, as it were, with the resto huma, ~ .,
AS we were returning, Billali met Is,
and informed us that it was She's pleasure
that we should wait upon her, and accord
ingly we entered her presence. not without
trepidation, for Ayesha was certainly IN
exception to the rule. Familiarity with
her might and did breed passion and Won
der and horror, but it certainly did not
breed contempt.
We were as usual shown in by the mntes,
and after these had retired, Ayesha un-
yelled, and once more babe Leo TO embrace
her, which, notwithstanding his heart
searchings OF the previous night, he did
with moro alacrity and fervor than in
strictness courtesy required.
She laid her white hand on his head, and
looked him fondly in the eyes. "Dost thou
wonder, my kallikrates," she said. "when
thou shalt call me all thine own. and when
we shall Of n truth be for one another and
to one another? | will tell thee. First,
must thou be even as / am-not immortal,
indeed, for that am | not, but SO cased and
hardened against the attacks of Time that
his arrows shall glance from the armor of
thy vigorous life as the sunbeams glance
from water. AS yet l nay not mate with
thee, for thou ana | are different, and the
very brightness Of my being would burn
thee up. ana ~perchance destroy thee. Thou
couldst not even bear to look upon me for
too long Il time, lest thine eyes should ache
and thy senses swim, and therefore with
n little coquettish nod) shall I presently
veil myself again" (Fhis, by the way, she
did not do No: listen, thou shalt not
be tried beyond endurance, for this very
evening, an hour before The sun goesdown,
shall we start hence, and by to-morrow's
dark, if all goes well, and the Dad is not
lost 60 me, which ! pray it may not be,
shall we stand in the place Of Life, and
thou shalt battle in the fire, and come forth
glorified as no man ever was before thee;
and then, Kaiiikrates. shalt thou call me
wife. and l will call thee husband"
Leo muttered something in answer to
this astonishing statement; / dnn't know
what; and she laughed "a little ~ his con-
fusion. and went on:
And thou, too, oh, Holly. on thee also
will | confer this boon, and then OF a truth
shalt thou be an evergreen-tree; and this
will / do-well, because thou hast pleased
me, Holly, for thou art not altogether a
fool, like most of the sons Of men, and be-
cause. though thou hast a school Of philos-
ophy rs full of nonsense as those of the
old days, yet hast thou not forgotten how
to turn a pretty phrase about a lady's eyes"
"Hulloa, old fellow.' whispered Leo.
with a turn Of his old cheerfulness, "have
you been paying compliments? | should
never have thought II OF you"
II thank thee, oh, Ayesha." | replied,
| with as much dignity as ! could command.
"6ut il there be such q place rs thou dost
describe. and if in this strange place there
can be found a fiery virtue that can hold
CT Death when re comes to pluck us by
the hand, yet would | none of it. For me,
Oh, Ayesha, the world has not proved so
scft a nest that | would lie in il forever.